In this episode of the Samson Strength Coach Collective, Bill Foran—former Head Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Miami Heat—walks through his decades-long career in sports performance. Bill discusses his transition from college athletics to the NBA, the cultural standards that defined the Heat organization, and how quality equipment and strong relationships shaped athlete development. He also offers candid advice for young coaches navigating a rapidly evolving profession.
Key Takeaways
- Building culture is just as important as building strength
- Early NBA strength coaches helped define today’s performance standards
- Quality, customizable equipment plays a major role in athlete development
- Trust is earned through consistency, care, and work ethic
- Modern athletes require variety while still mastering fundamentals
- Mentorship remains a cornerstone of coaching growth
- Strength and conditioning continues to evolve with technology and specialization
Quote
“You gotta care and work with them.” — Bill Foran
Samson:
When did you first encounter Sampson Equipment?
Bill Foran:
I’m trying to think back when it was, but it was probably at an NSCA conference in the late eighties, maybe early, right in that area. So I’ve, I’ve been a fan for man over 35 years for sure. ⁓ But it, you know, we’d go there and it was Dave and Linda, ⁓ both of them, just genuine people. And it was.
Samson:
That’s incredible.
Bill Foran:
they’re in the people business and you just gravitated to them. They’re just good people with amazing products.
Samson:
What’s going on Sampson Strength Coach collective listeners. On today’s episode, we have a very special edition for the episode. This is part of our Sampson Legacy Series where we’re celebrating 50 years of Sampson equipment. We have an amazing guest on today’s show, Bill Ferran. Bill is the former Miami Heat head strength and conditioning coach, as well as a plethora of other teams, but you had a storied career with the Miami Heat. So I’m very excited to speak with you. You were one of the main names that I heard coming up in.
my best young basketball straight conditioning career so it’s an honor for me to be able to sit down and speak with you.
Bill Foran:
That’s awesome. Thanks, Connor. Appreciate that.
Samson:
Of course, can you just give us our listeners a brief background of your career in strength and conditioning?
Bill Foran:
Yeah, kind of how I started out of college, my first job, was coaching at a small school, coaching ⁓ football, smallest school in the conference, hadn’t had a winning season in years. And this is in the late seventies and I started a strength and conditioning program and we started winning. And I learned right there, I like developing athletes more than the X’s and O’s of the sport.
And it was not far from Michigan State. I had already started taking classes in exercise, phys at Michigan State, one class a semester as I was teaching and coaching. And I’d go visit their strength and conditioning coach. And he says, Bill, you’re the only high school coach that comes around. I just want to learn as much as I can. Or he could, and he was looking for his first grad assistant. And I could go back to school for one year, get some experience and get my degree.
And so that was one year and that summer there were two openings at the college level, Mississippi state and Washington state. Now this doesn’t happen in today’s world, but I went from a grad assistant to the head strength and conditioning coach at a pack 10 school, which was pretty amazing. And they hadn’t been to a bowl game in 50 years. And we started winning a little there.
Samson:
That’s awesome.
Bill Foran:
and as their four seasons and that got me to University of Miami in the mid 80s and we went 55 and five, two national championships and gave a couple away. ⁓ But then along the way, ⁓ the Heat came to town as an expansion team. Their first year they practiced at University of Miami and they asked me if I would help them out and the university allowed me to do that.
The practice court was right next to the weight room, so it was easy for them to come in and on the different times that the athletes weren’t working, they were in there. And in March of that first year, ⁓ they approached me to come out in full time. Well, we were on a roll at the U, but I had one assistant in 18 teams. It a little different back then compared to in the 80s compared to now.
And I could move up to the pro level and deal with 15 athletes. So, uh, and then the heat came along and that happened. uh, I was there 33 full-time seasons and then kind of crazy story. My son took over and I’ve been a consultant for he and his staff for the last few years. And, and today they started, uh, their fall camp today, in fact, in Boca Raton. And I’ve been in, in touch with a good first practice, uh,
starting the 38th season for the…
Samson:
Well, that’s incredible. And I’ve got to imagine it’s very tough to be able to turn down switching to 15 athletes, literally less athletes than teams that you had at the time.
Bill Foran:
Exactly. That was,
I loved coaching at the U, but man, long days, lots of athletes and now I could be so specific. So I do have a little story if you want to hear it real quick. ⁓ When they approached me to come on full time, ⁓ the head coach asked, said, Billy Cunningham, the hall of fame coach and player was our managing partner.
Samson:
Absolutely.
Please, please.
Bill Foran:
And he says, Billy’s always in his office early before games and he wants to talk to you about the position. So I’m in talking to Billy, how I kind of see strength and conditioning at the NBA level. And at the time there were only a handful of strength. I think I was the third full-time guy ever in the NBA. was just brand new for professional basketball. There’s a knock on the door and it was Wilt Chamberlain. Wilt…
Samson:
Wow.
Bill Foran:
Wilt was in town for a volleyball tournament and wanted to see his old buddy Billy. So Billy introduces me to Wilt and what we’re talking about. He says, you know, Billy, when I was at Kansas, he said, I was a basketball player and a track athlete. Basketball players couldn’t touch weights. Track athletes lifted weights all the, I lifted with the track team. Everybody thought I dominated because I was bigger than everybody. says, hell, I was stronger than everybody. You got to have a strength and conditioning coach.
Thank you, Will.
Samson:
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, even harder to turn down the job when you get to meet one of the all-time greats when you’re interviewing for it.
Bill Foran:
That was, he was in the Miami arena one day in his life. was that day. It’s Yeah. Yeah, exactly.
Samson:
Well, that’s incredible. I believe they call that Kismet, right?
Excellent. Well, I am interested too, because Sampson is a very family oriented company, obviously through their history. How was it being able to see your son take over the reins of something that you built for over 30 years?
Bill Foran:
Yeah, pretty amazing. So he was a track athlete. He was a pole vaulter at Florida all SEC pole vaulter. He was on two national championship teams as it was pretty cool. And he stayed and went to grad school and exercise, fitness, human performance, and he needed an internship. And the heat didn’t do internships, but I went into Pat Riley and asked him, he says, not only will it be an internship,
It’ll be a paid internship. So it was going to be one semester that turned into a year, turned into a second year. And then they approached him behind my back to come on full time as my assistant. So he was my assistant for another three years. And then I kind of stepped back a little and he moved into it. So it kind of created, it doesn’t happen in pro sports, but it was amazing. So.
Samson:
No,
no. And I mean, you hear of some father son duos and kind of the more of the coaching side, sport coach side a little bit. Like I think about Bill Belichick and his son, right? But ultimately it’s probably a very unique story for String the Kittishing. I don’t think I can come up with another instance of it.
Bill Foran:
Yeah.
There is one other Dwight Dobb who was with Seattle and OKC. His son is with the Charlotte Hornets. Yeah, so there is another one coming along which is kind of cool.
Samson:
⁓ excellent. Okay. Yeah.
That’s,
that’s a sorry to interrupt. That’s what my, my wife here is the dietitian for AppState. And so they like to, you know, always when they tout to our recruits that we’re the only husband and wife strength coach and dietitian duo. I just, this makes me think of it because it’s something so specific that I know for a fact there’s another one over at West Virginia. Yep. Yep.
Bill Foran:
okay. There you go. Pretty cool.
And speaking of App State, I think of ⁓ Chip Sigmund, another guy that was ⁓ with Charlotte Horn us for years. Good friend of mine. It was in the NBA, but he started his career at App State.
Samson:
Yeah.
it’s a great program to be a part of. Seriously, I feel ⁓ very lucky. Honestly, that’s how I feel to be able to be a part of it. Ultimately, again, we’re here to celebrate Sampson and really talk about their full legacy. When did you first encounter Sampson Equipment?
Bill Foran:
I’m trying to think back when it was, but it was probably at an NSCA conference in the late eighties, maybe early, right in that area. So I’ve, I’ve been a fan for man over 35 years for sure. ⁓ But it, you know, we’d go there and it was Dave and Linda, ⁓ both of them, just genuine people. And it was.
Samson:
That’s incredible.
Bill Foran:
they’re in the people business and you just gravitated to them. They’re just good people with amazing products. And in fact, man, sometime in the early nineties, I even flew out to Las Cruces and saw the factory and the setup. think Brian and Scott were in high school at the time. So it’s been a while. So yeah, we have a little history, definitely.
Samson:
You
No, for sure. And I really appreciate and understand what you say when you say they’re in the people business because it’s been nothing but fantastic for me to work with them. You know, do you feel like that’s what sets them apart from other equipment companies?
Bill Foran:
That plus their equipment. definitely the people business, but when you’re in the people business, you gotta have a product that backs it up too. Their equipment’s amazing.
Samson:
Yeah
Absolutely. Can you just walk me through that first visit when you went out to Las Cruces, how it was going to the factory, ⁓ what it was like being able to go out there for that experience?
Bill Foran:
It was like ⁓ going to visit family or friends, know, they open arms and dinner and just see the play. It was just, ⁓ what company does that? You know, they just open up and let you see everything, what’s going on. ⁓ was very interesting, very fun.
Samson:
Absolutely. And you say that the equipment stands out to you. What stands out about the equipment? What really makes you say that it’s ⁓ so high quality?
Bill Foran:
You look at it, it’s the seven gauge steel.
Even the pads, the vinyl, the paint, the stainless, everything is top of the line across the board. I guess when you do that, you can have lifetime warranties like they do because they’re so good. It stands the test of time for sure.
Samson:
Absolutely. You know, I remember when I first started working with Samson, asked me, you know, or another strength coach asked me, Hey, can you connect me with Samson? And I remember telling them like, it’ll be one of the best decisions you make because ultimately you’re not going to have to buy new racks in seven years. This is going to be a lifetime purchase that you’re making. Yeah.
Bill Foran:
Exactly. It’s
funny, my high school I went to just a few years ago approached me. They wanted to upgrade their weight room. So I put them in touch with Samson and they drew up the 3D drawings and they have a great weight room now. So that was kind of fun to see them go to my old high school as well.
Samson:
That’s awesome. know, what was the, you remember your first order with Samson and how the install process was?
Bill Foran:
Yeah, the big thing with the heat is most equipment fits guys up to six, seven, pretty good. But when you have guys over seven feet, now all of a sudden I asked Sampson, you know, I need some oversized equipment. I need an oversized leg press. I need an oversized leg extension, leg curl. No problem. What other company can can oversize?
their corporation, I get to talk to the boss and it’s a completely different thing. Plus I had some things I wanted ⁓ a step up, a two tier step up. They designed it and build it for me. I wanted a little ⁓ rotator cuff stand, I call it, where they could lean their shoulder, lean their chest on it and do different range of motion things with rotator cuff and they designed it and build it. not only.
they oversized but they they made things specific to what I wanted so that was yeah I bought in quickly with that stuff.
Samson:
Absolutely. How was that design process? mean, because it’s tough nowadays to call somebody up and just say, hey, I’m looking for this specific, ⁓ you know, equipment or instrument and everybody’s kind of just gonna say, well, we don’t have it. You know, how was…
Bill Foran:
Exactly. And so I just told them some of my thoughts and they said, yeah, we can do it. And they worked on it and send back, you know, pictures of it say, okay, let’s go. And the equipment was great. Everything I wanted, the oversized stuff was great. The original stuff was really good. So yeah, no complaints.
Samson:
Yeah, and again, think ⁓ it really, the durability of the equipment to me matches the Miami Heat culture, right? It’s all about having players that are tough and gritty. And I think one of my favorite quotes is, right, we want to be the most disliked in the league. ⁓ Obviously not the goal of Sampson, but the other philosophies seem to match.
Bill Foran:
Yes, exactly. Yep, Pat Riley quotes. I love him.
Samson:
Yeah. You know, do you have a favorite memory with Dave and Linda, something that you can call back on or something that you really appreciate about working with them or just something that was fun?
Bill Foran:
And just go into the conferences and see them. Always a big smile, happy to see a hug. They just became friends. And so that was a really cool thing. And then as far as equipment, it was always amazing. So yeah.
Samson:
Yeah.
Top notch, absolutely. ⁓ You know, that equipment that you were able to manufacture with them and you were able to kind of design, did you see them start to implement it in other weight rooms? I mean, I’m sure for the NBA, that’s something that could be more universally used.
Bill Foran:
You know what?
Good point. ⁓ do know other clubs started getting some oversized equipment, but yeah, but the stuff I asked specifically, I haven’t seen it in other clubs.
Samson:
Yeah, you know, I would have to say and maybe I know David Linda will be listening. Maybe it’s time for you to collect some royalty checks for being able to come up with the oversized equipment with them.
Bill Foran:
⁓
They may have done some before me, I don’t know, but the oversize worked great.
Samson:
Yep, absolutely. Can you just talk to me a little bit about your experience through 30 years at the Miami Heat? mean, just such an ⁓ amazing program to be a part of. actually, as part of our ⁓ program within App State, we literally watch videos of historic programs and historic coaches. And one of our chip times is what we call it, championship habits inspire performance. One of our chip times is actually about the Miami Heat and the culture that’s been driven.
⁓ How was your experience working with them for over 30 years?
Bill Foran:
amazing. Pat Riley, he’s just such an amazing coach and motivator. I remember back in the day, back in the nineties, Dan Marley was with us and you know, 82 games, a long season. And he said, he says, Bill, every pregame speech, he says, I want to run through the wall for that guy. He just, so I don’t know how he has stories, different, but the way he would.
connect with the athletes to get the best out of them. It’s pretty amazing.
Samson:
Yeah, absolutely. How was the transition from football ⁓ to basketball? Because I did the same transition in my career and so I’m curious to see what your thoughts were.
Bill Foran:
Well, I still had basketball with with university of Miami because football number one, basketball is number two, then baseball and then other sports. But the, the big difference, you know, they all have to train total body strength and power, but it’s. the weight really changes compared to the football player and the basketball player, but still you want to get them as strong as powerful as possible. And you know.
Samson:
Yeah.
Bill Foran:
80 to 85 percent of this stuff is virtually the same workouts just at the different set and rep programs but then you get a little sport specific as well.
Samson:
No, absolutely. You know, were there any challenges that you initially faced? I mean, obviously, weight’s going to be a big difference. I had to learn that lesson myself when I transitioned. ⁓ And I had to learn that basketball athletes need to be in a lot better shape as well, too, than I initially thought.
Bill Foran:
Yeah, conditioning, conditioning’s first, but you still have to be strong and powerful. A quick story, our very first draft pick was Ronnie Cycley, 6’10”, 230 pounds out of Syracuse. And he came in for his first workout and he said, I’m here to work out, but I don’t squat.
And I said, we’re doing a split routine. We’re doing upper body today. We’ll do lower body tomorrow. And we squat differently here. That’s all I said. Next day, it caught his interest. Cause the next day he comes in, says, how do you squat differently? I said, we squat correctly. and he, so our first year expansion team, he’s a rookie, not physically prepared. And he starts in the MBA and just had a tough first year, but to his.
You know, he went the next summer, did not miss a workout, spent the whole summer and he bought into the, became a pretty good squatter, but he went from two 30 to two 52 stayed at 8 % body fat increases vertical jump three inches and was voted the most improved player in the NBA. So when your first draft pick and strength and conditioning.
make such a difference, they tend to keep the guy around for a few years. it was fortunate to have somebody that was willing to work that never really had that background and it was pretty amazing.
Samson:
Absolutely.
Well, I mean, it sounds like you were able to really see the initial benefits of strength and conditioning as well, because like you said, you started out in the late seventies as a sport coach. Ultimately, that was a time where strength and conditioning was not very prevalent. And I feel like the teams that were able to first start using it really saw the advantage. Now every team has a strength coach and everybody’s starting to become specialized. How have you seen the field evolve over the years?
Bill Foran:
Yeah, everybody.
Yeah, that’s big difference. The big difference, staffs. know, when I had one other, I had one assistant both at Washington State and Miami, and now how many just in football are, are, are coaches. So that’s, you can get so specific when you have a big staff and everybody’s willing to work, but ⁓ lots of changes, but you still can’t get, get away from the fundamentals, you know.
You need strong legs, strong hip, core, pushing, pulling. You got to stay with the fundamentals, but then there’s all kinds of different exercises. And now you look on social media and it gets a little crazy with everything, but if you stick with the fundamentals, you’ll, you’ll be pretty good.
Samson:
Why do you think people stray from the fundamentals? it just trying to push the field forward? Because I agree with you. I mean, I’m the most fundamental coach I can get, I think, at my age. I believe in those things beyond anything else. But why do you feel people really kind of deviate from those fundamentals?
Bill Foran:
I think the athletes now are a little different than the athletes back in the nineties, especially in basketball. It was a rough and tumble league back then. It’s a little different now. And guys tend to, there’s a lot of personal ⁓ trainers out there trying to get them and they get them with, look what we’re doing. And so there’s a lot of things going on that with social media, you gotta look at the stuff, but
You got to bring in more variety for today’s athlete is what I’m finding. And so that’s, that’s one of the big things, but you can, there’s a lot of variety in squats and lunges and doing the right things versus all the crazy exercises are out there. But yeah, athletes have changed and there’s more variety. Definitely.
Samson:
Well, we actually had a full staff meeting, all staff recently, and our sports psychologist that works with us ultimately said that attention span is something that he’s noticed has changed with athletes. So do you attribute that to why we have to change things and have more variety for these athletes? Have you noticed that trend?
Bill Foran:
Yes. And attention span is a good thing.
That’s, that’s big thing. What’s going on? You know, they’re on their phones 24 seven. Everything’s coming at you so fast. Attention spans have changed and yeah, to focus on, you know, five great exercises all the time. It’s hard for the athletes to do that. Now you have to mix it up a little to keep them interested. It has changed.
Samson:
Yeah, we’re in the middle of an eight week ⁓ base strength to max strength phase for our players. And I had to tell them, hey guys, we’re not changing that much up, okay? And I really need you to just focus for eight weeks here. Please just give me everything because I promise you it’ll be worth it in the end, but we’re gonna squat a lot, we’re gonna press a lot, we’re gonna clean a lot, and I just need you to buy in just for eight weeks, please. ⁓
Bill Foran:
There you go.
Exactly. that’s if you can get them to buy in, because I get an athlete complain, well, we’re not doing this, this, this. I said, we try to pick the best exercises across the board and get really good at them. And some of these other exercises, they’re not the best exercises. So we’ll change up a little bit, but we’re trying to do the best exercises in each category.
Samson:
Absolutely. And again, it’s a, what is the Bruce Lee quote? I always love the quotes, right? I always go back to them, right? But ⁓ I fear a man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times over 10,000 kicks one time, right? Yeah. Do you remember the first time an athlete brought a smartphone into the weight room?
Bill Foran:
Yeah, great quote. Yep.
have to think back.
Samson:
Heh
Bill Foran:
No, not really, but one of the good things that they brought is they could connect and they could play their music. And so one of the things I let them, they bring their phone in, okay, you get to pick the music. And sometimes I’d have to have my day of music, but they like that. The first guy in with the phone got to pick the music, so.
Samson:
Yeah, a little bit of motivation to get in first. Yeah. I remember I used to be very in touch with the music and so I’d always kind of use my playlist. And then I remember for the first time, like two years ago, one of our players said, Connor, this is not it. We need to change it up. We need to play our music. I said, ⁓ I thought I was playing your music. guess I’ve learned that I’m not as cool as I thought I once was. And again, back to Samson, from your perspective,
Bill Foran:
There you go.
Hahaha
⁓ There you go, yep.
Samson:
How has Samson really influenced strength and conditioning?
Bill Foran:
Well, they’re on the cutting edge with the equipment and now all the different designs when they have the racks with the cable columns and ⁓ as well as have the brands on there now. ⁓ Other teams are, but I just look at that equipment and they just seem ahead of the curve most of the time on the designs and making it custom to each weight room.
Yeah, definitely cutting edge.
Samson:
Yeah. Do you feel like that really allows you to be flexible with how you design your weight rooms and really gives you more options because of that cutting edge and the ability to kind of mix and match and do what you need to do with the equipment.
Bill Foran:
Exactly, because when they have different columns and you can have a cable column and have four different exercises right there in a small amount of space, you can get so much equipment into a small space with their setups.
Samson:
And that’s one of the universal things about basketball weight rooms is it’s tough to find space.
Bill Foran:
Exactly. when we, so we had the Miami arena first and in 2000, they, had the, the new arena came in the Casilla center now, but, um, they were looking at space in the NBA recommended for weight rooms in arenas, 2,500 feet is enough. And that’s what they came to me and I said, coach, we need a lot more space than that.
And yeah, yeah, double. So he listened to me and we were able to get the space and there was a lot of weight rooms back then, just tiny little weight rooms in these arenas. Now the new arenas have amazing weight rooms, but that was it. I thought 2,500 was enough and I was able to get a little better than that.
Samson:
at least 5,000. ⁓
How did that conversation go? Because I can only imagine having, you know, a board come out and say that this is the recommended amount, which is clearly not correct. You know, having that back, I’m sure the coach was a little perplexed.
Bill Foran:
Well, when I talked to Pat about it, he got it. He’s a guy that’s into strength and conditioning that really believed in weight and body fat and world-class conditioning. So it’s amazing to have a coach that was that into all this. So it was an easy sell to Pat, but the NBA just didn’t know what they were talking about at the time.
Samson:
Yeah.
How have you seen that evolve within the NBA about essentially taking straight the conditioning seriously? ⁓ Because ultimately football was the first one to have, okay, everybody has their own strength coach. And then now everybody’s got four assistant coaches on staff and two GAs and five interns. And so there’s what a one to four essentially coach to athlete ratio where I feel like basketball is now on the collegiate side, just kind of catching up and.
More schools are starting to have just basketball strength and conditioning coaches. How have you seen that kind of transform?
Bill Foran:
It has come a long way because I was one strength coach for the Heat until my son helped. He came in in 2012. So from 1988 to 2012, it was just me, one strength coach and it was an everyday thing. So Eric came in. So all of a sudden I have an assistant and he, man, you can do so much more with one assistant. Well now.
Eric’s staff, has two full-time assistants and the GA that’s there in the summertime. So for all those years, it was just me. Now they’ve got four guys and they can get so much done. I just still consult for them a little bit and go down and I just go in the weight room and why I just smiling at everything they’re doing these days. It’s pretty cool.
Samson:
Do you try to tell Eric he doesn’t know how easy he has it compared to what you did?
Bill Foran:
He’s definitely aware.
Samson:
Well,
I mean, he grew up with it, so I’m sure he’s seen a major difference. ⁓
Bill Foran:
yeah, exactly. And I
started to tell earlier, ⁓ the beginning of last season, they honored Pat Riley with, they named the court after Pat Riley and they had this celebration before the first game. And so I was down there for that. I’m in the back and I see Pat and he gives me a big hug and he says, you know, our current strength coach is better than you. I said, coach, that was a plan.
Samson:
That’s the plan. Yep. I got to imagine the only way you’d be able to accept that is if it’s your son. Well, a big piece of this too is trying to kind of define Samson’s legacy. What does Samson mean to you?
Bill Foran:
First class.
First class equipment, first class customer service, first class people. They’re just amazing. It’s pretty cool to see what Dave started in 1976 and Dave and Linda and now Brian and Scott. It’s just cool to see a family business to end up where they’re at. It’s amazing to me.
Samson:
What’s the transformation you’ve seen? Because I’ve heard about it through multiple people I’ve worked with at Samson, but what have you personally seen, like you say, from starting in the 70s to now?
Bill Foran:
Just the way they develop the different ⁓ equipment now that like the, what do they call it? Their flex program. They can make such amazing weight rooms in a small area, or they got the big, huge football weight rooms that are just beautiful. ⁓ didn’t have, nobody had those back in the seventies and eighties and they’re on the cutting edge of that.
Samson:
How was it being able to see your high school get outfitted with Samson as well too? I mean, I know you said it’s a cool experience, but I mean, I gotta imagine that brings it back to where it all started.
Bill Foran:
Yeah.
Yeah, it’s pretty fun to see that ⁓ they approached me to help them out. You know, I’m in Florida, they’re up in Michigan and we talk back and forth and I’ve been up there to see it and it really turned out great. And that was the one thing that the athletic director up there told me about. I think it was Brian that went there for the setup. says, man, customer service is amazing. They’re just good people. And I said, I agree.
Samson:
Yeah, you know, and it’s one thing I have a lot of friends in strength and conditioning. I think back to, you know, if somebody calls me about an intern and they weren’t great, I’ll be honest with them and candid with them and try to, you know, I try my best to navigate that situation with respect because that’s somebody who worked for me and did a great job, but I always try to be as honest as possible. The easiest conversation I always have is should I work with SAMHSA? Yes, 100%. Yeah.
Bill Foran:
Exactly.
Samson:
What does that customer service experience really been to you? Because that’s the number one thing I say to other people is if you call, the owners are picking up the phone. It’s not somebody who’s just going to reroute your call and you’re going to have to bounce around for a little bit. How is that customer service? What does that mean to you?
Bill Foran:
It was great because starting out, I was looking for a company that would do some things for me, customize oversized equipment and build some things that it’s not out there. yeah, let’s go. were, yeah. So yeah, really easy to work with.
Samson:
Yeah.
Especially, know, with yourself being a pioneer in strength and conditioning, you said you were the third full-time strength coach hired in the NBA. I’m sure you needed a company that was willing to work with you on a lot of new things because basketball players, as we know, are anthropometrically different than most athletes. You know, ⁓ if Dave and Linda were listening right now, you know, what is one thing that you’d want to say to celebrate their 50 years of Sampson? And do you have a message directly for them?
Bill Foran:
Yeah.
You
Exactly.
Wow, first thing I’d say is ⁓ congratulations. ⁓ Great family, great company. Now enjoy life, get outdoors and eat healthy.
Samson:
Excellent, excellent. Ultimately, it sounds like it’s just been such a great experience to work with them. I’m glad to hear that other coaches have had the same experience I have had with just being able to work with them as well. I guess it’s tough for me to kind of put this question into words, but if you could go back and…
really say what was the main thing that kept you going back to Sampson? Was it the quality of service? Was it the quality of equipment? Was it everything?
Bill Foran:
It was everything because customer service was amazing and their product’s amazing. So it’s win-win.
Samson:
Yeah, you say, you know, enjoy life and eat well and get outside. How has your career been ⁓ since stepping back as the head straining conditioning coach and moving into a consultant role?
Bill Foran:
you
Yeah, so it made for a nice transition to be able to, I get down to games once or twice a month. I would send, I do some research for Eric and his staff and send something out weekly. And so it’s been a nice transition, but I’m retired up in Vero Beach, Florida now and live at a golf course. And excuse me, right after this, I’ll go out and play nine holes. So it’s pretty good.
Samson:
That’s awesome.
Are you a big golfer?
Bill Foran:
Yeah, I enjoy golf,
Samson:
I’m as terrible as it gets, promise you that. mean,
truly. ⁓ I work with the women’s golf team here as well too. And our golf coaches offered a couple times to help me out. And I just said, I’m a lost cause. You don’t want to spend your time with me.
Bill Foran:
There you go.
Samson:
What advice would you impart with young strength coaches, people who are coming up in the field with the vast amount of experience you have? What would you say to them?
Bill Foran:
You know what, I heard a story, just a second here. I heard a story about a coach, head coach going into a new team and wanted to find out about their culture. And he sat down with every player and asked them two questions about the athletic training staff and the strength and conditioning staff. The first question was,
Does he work his ass off? Second question, does he give a shit? Athletic training staff was gone. Strength and conditioning staff, one person was left. It’s amazing. So what I tell people is ⁓ one, have a workout. can show them your care, but work your ass off and give a shit. ⁓ We’re in the people business too.
They see that you care. It makes a huge difference. So you gotta care and work with them and just have a great work ethic. You can’t be a strength coach if you don’t have a work ethic. And then if you show them you care, you go up a few levels.
Samson:
Yeah.
What are the ways that you really show the athletes that you care? Because I feel like everybody kind of has a different method of how to do that.
Bill Foran:
And when they come in, communication is so important. I try to get to know them at their level, ⁓ about their family, what they’re into. ⁓ That helps a lot. Just try to get to know them as people as well. And that makes a big difference.
Samson:
You know, know Will Chamberlain is probably one of your favorite stories, but do you have any other favorite stories from your time?
Bill Foran:
I got one more favorite story because, um, so Pat Riley came to town September of 1995. And it’s interesting, coach Folstra came in May of 95 as the video coordinator. So he was there before Pat, um, and is going to be a hall of fame coach as well. But there was rumblings that summer that Pat might be coming to town. And I went out and bought his book, The Winter Within.
Samson:
Yeah.
Bill Foran:
So I’m reading his book and on page 235, he talked about the Nick strength coach who he thought was the best in the NBA. Well, I mentioned Billy Cunningham earlier. Billy Cunningham, Lou Schafele, the managing partners were being bought out by the Harrison family at this time. And their last week in office, they redid three people’s contracts and one was mine. gave me a three year deal. So I told my wife, I said,
You know, coaches bring their own guys, but, ⁓ we got a three, we’re going to be okay. So Pat gets hired and his first meeting, he told me he’s into two things, fundamentals and conditioning. He said, if you have those two things, have a chance, anything in life, if you’re fundamentally sound and conditioned for it. And then at the end of the meeting.
He says you have a year to prove yourself. Thank you, Pat. Well, that year, Magic Johnson was out of the league, but he had a traveling ⁓ basketball team that played in Brazil. And on their way back to LA, they came through Miami. He wanted to see his old coach. Well, he was in, wanted to get a workout. So he’s in working out. And I reminded him when I was a grad,
assistant, a grad student at Michigan State. The Lakers got knocked in the first year, his first year, they won the championship, his rookie. Second year, they got knocked out in the first round and he was back in town and ⁓ basketball ⁓ managers put together a intramural softball team. So I batted third and Magic batted fourth.
If you go to an intramural basketball team, nobody shows up. Well, people started hearing that magic was in town. It was crazy. They was just lined with people to come see magic play. So that was kind of interesting. So I’m just jogging his memory about that and he gets done. And he says, I said, here, he was doing some, he was doing some, ⁓ ab exercises. And I says, here, let me show you a few things. Wanted to kick his ass just a little bit.
And next day, Pat says, I don’t know what you did to Magic, but boy was he impressed. Thank you, Magic. So Magic and Wilk kind of helped me out. Crazy stories.
Samson:
Hahaha
Well, that’s incredible. mean, you got help from two of the greatest players of all time. That’s incredible.
Wow, I mean, and again, it must be a little bit intimidating to have to really sit there and again, know that he had what he thought at the time was the best training conditioning coach in the nation and then have to compete for that. So I’m glad you’re able to prove yourself after a year.
Bill Foran:
Yeah, it worked out. ⁓
Samson:
Yeah, excellent.
Well, you know, any final words for Samson or anything that you would like to say as we kind of wrap up this podcast?
Bill Foran:
Just thank you Samson and you guys got to be proud and just keep going because the company’s amazing
Samson:
Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Bill. I really appreciate your time and it’s been great to get to know you better and reminisce on Sampson.
Bill Foran:
Yeah, that was fun, Connor. Thank you.
Samson:
Absolutely. Enjoy golf later today.
Bill Foran:
Appreciate that.
